Wish I Was Here

It says something about the state of Hollywood filmmaking when two of the summer's best-written, most incisive films about the challenge of strengthening family relationships without giving up your career dreams were made by successful actors who shouldn't have to beg.

First there was Jon Favreau's "Chef," a labor of love that needed favors from Dustin Hoffman and others to be made. And now there's a wonderful film from Zach Braff, the star of "Scrubs" whose first film as director was the winning "Garden State." Yet he needed a Kickstarter campaign to make "Wish I Was Here."

Well, no matter how it was made, it's the result that counts. "Wish I Was Here" is a funny, touching movie that features one of Kate Hudson's best performances and a curmudgeonly good one from Mandy Patinkin.

Aidan (Braff) is an actor who's been trying to break through in Hollywood for years. His wife, Sarah (Hudson), is the breadwinner, supporting Aidan's dream and their two kids. There's a sense that Aidan's dreams are reaching a crossroads: At some point he's going to have to succeed or give up.

Then there's Aidan's strained relationship with his father, Gabe (Patinkin), who basically thinks his son is an out-and-out failure. It is he who is paying for the kids' tuition at a traditional Jewish school.

When Gabe is diagnosed with terminal cancer, the film's soul-searching shifts into high gear.

There are a lot of funny bits - the family's "swear jar," where money is put after someone curses (conceived to teach the kids a lesson, but it's Dad who contributes the majority of the money); Aidan's attempt at homeschooling his children after they are pulled out of school - and some not-so-funny ones (an old rabbi on a Segway).

So there are some hits and some misses, but Braff's honest sentiment, and his typically Braffian performance, win out.

Hudson, though, is the big surprise. A decade ago, she was a modest box-office star in formulaic romantic comedies; now 35, she is more striking than ever, and the depth she displays here, both dramatically and comedically, is key to the succes of "Wish I Was Here."

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